I've heard mixed messages regarding that; I was worried because I do the same with my laptop - I tend to have it plugged in for long periods of time. On one forum I was told that it is good to use the battery as much as you can to 'exercise' the battery. Another forum said that it doesn't matter, its all voodoo to claim it needs to be exercised. For me I am conscious about looking after my hardware so even as someone who is pretty knowledgeable about computers - I am confused as to what I am supposed to do.

That seems to be the case with battery tech in general. E.g. people have told me that you should ALWAYS fully-discharge your laptop battery before recharging - and others have told me the exact opposite (that you should NEVER fully-discharge a laptop battery).

The best (or most plausible-sounding) explanation I've heard is from a friend who studied electrical engineering: fully-discharging means the battery will hold a charge longer, at the expense of the overall lifespan of the battery. While *never* fully-discharging means the battery will have a longer lifespan, at the expense of how long it will hold a charge.